Talk to anyone who use to work at TSR or who works at Wotc today, or talk to Authors like, Salvatore, Golden, Grubb, or Cook and you will see it's always Drow which rhymes with cow.
Talk to anyone who use to work at TSR or who works at Wotc today, or talk to Authors like, Salvatore, Golden, Grubb, or Cook and you will see it's always Drow which rhymes with cow.
Indeed, over the years I have heard authors, TSR and WotC officials and IIRC even Ed himself pronounces it 'd-rou. Take the "dr" sound from "dragon" and as storm said, the "ow" from cow, put them together to sound out "'d-rou"
ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited December 2012
Drow make you go Ow.
I was expecting to hear the Dr-ow Th-row debate when I opened this thread, but aye, Drow most certainly rhymes with cow and is generally accepted as Dr from Dragon although some do accent it in a way which sounds like Thr-ow.
Interestingly enough there's been more debate here over, oops...excuse me a moment...
*gets 10-foot pole, ready now, and continues touching this subject*
...over if it were Drow the fantasy supported or Drows the other old 18th century literature for this group's (or plural) spelling.
Yes according to my English lit professor Sir Walter Scott wrote about Caledonian fairies who were referred to as Drow and did actually rhyme with throw....still if it's D&D it rhymes with cow.
It depends. The earliest canon work (1985) to give pronunciation for drow (Dragon Magazine, #93) says it is /droʊ/ (as in "throw"). But more recent (1989, 2008) canon stuff (Dragon Magazine #142, official TSR D&D FAQ) use /draʊ/ (as in "cow" or "now'). Americans usually use the later, but in my experience UK gamers used the former.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
edited December 2012
The english language is subject to interpretation beyond compare. I don't consider any person in the world an expert or an authority in pronounciation.
Here is my reasoning, my proof and the bottom line.
"I read books."
That is a complete sentence however it doesn't state which tense the sentence is supposed to be read in therefore that sentence can be correctly read both as "I reed books" and "I red books."
So while there may be words like throw, blow and bellow which put out an "oh" sound there are also words like cow, wow and bow which stress the w.
So with this understanding the only people who can dictate which is right and which is wrong is the people who thought up the wording.
Another Example is:
Runescape's continent is Gilenor. Correctly read with Enlish ruling it's Jillennor. According to the creators it's pronounced Guillennor.
So, in the case of Drow the only thing which matters is how the creators, in this case Wizards (formerly TSR), dictate it is supposed to be read. Find some examples of them saying the word and we'll have our answer because the English language has no bearing.
However the lack of dictation implies they may have chosen to simply let players of different locallities choose their own way to proounce it.
I know I went many years saying MenzobEranzan with my New York accent throwing the syllibles out as one word. R.A. Salvatore however puts huge accentuation on each syllable making the correct pronounciation Menzo Bare Anne Zanne.
TL/DR:
Creators control pronounciation, not the shattered lawless exception-filled Enlish language.
I believe in old Danish the word for troll and drow were the same. I won't even try to pronounce or spell it, but I'll keep pronouncing it Drow(Droe). Cause I like the way it rolls.
Orcus bane, Knight-wanderer of the Sword Coast
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iamtruthseekerMember, Moonstars, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
I believe in old Danish the word for troll and drow were the same. I won't even try to pronounce or spell it, but I'll keep pronouncing it Drow(Droe). Cause I like the way it rolls.
Yes and not even trying to say it either since I almost never see Danish let alone hear it.
Comments
But I pronounce it Underscum.
*chuckles madly*
Indeed, over the years I have heard authors, TSR and WotC officials and IIRC even Ed himself pronounces it 'd-rou. Take the "dr" sound from "dragon" and as storm said, the "ow" from cow, put them together to sound out "'d-rou"
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I was expecting to hear the Dr-ow Th-row debate when I opened this thread, but aye, Drow most certainly rhymes with cow and is generally accepted as Dr from Dragon although some do accent it in a way which sounds like Thr-ow.
*gets 10-foot pole, ready now, and continues touching this subject*
...over if it were Drow the fantasy supported or Drows the other old 18th century literature for this group's (or plural) spelling.
Yes according to my English lit professor Sir Walter Scott wrote about Caledonian fairies who were referred to as Drow and did actually rhyme with throw....still if it's D&D it rhymes with cow.
Ol zhah biu bel'la ulu zhaun dos jal
lu'oh nin, olath'yukin al'vur?
L'bel'la zhah udosst Truth, lu'bel'la dos
Here is my reasoning, my proof and the bottom line.
"I read books."
That is a complete sentence however it doesn't state which tense the sentence is supposed to be read in therefore that sentence can be correctly read both as "I reed books" and "I red books."
So while there may be words like throw, blow and bellow which put out an "oh" sound there are also words like cow, wow and bow which stress the w.
So with this understanding the only people who can dictate which is right and which is wrong is the people who thought up the wording.
Another Example is:
Runescape's continent is Gilenor. Correctly read with Enlish ruling it's Jillennor. According to the creators it's pronounced Guillennor.
So, in the case of Drow the only thing which matters is how the creators, in this case Wizards (formerly TSR), dictate it is supposed to be read. Find some examples of them saying the word and we'll have our answer because the English language has no bearing.
However the lack of dictation implies they may have chosen to simply let players of different locallities choose their own way to proounce it.
I know I went many years saying MenzobEranzan with my New York accent throwing the syllibles out as one word. R.A. Salvatore however puts huge accentuation on each syllable making the correct pronounciation Menzo Bare Anne Zanne.
TL/DR:
Creators control pronounciation, not the shattered lawless exception-filled Enlish language.
Hmm... interesting. Very interesting.
Where was it that I was to mail those demonic spiders again?
Yes and not even trying to say it either since I almost never see Danish let alone hear it.